Kismayo (HAN) May 19, 2015 – Public Diplomacy and Regional Security News. Fighters seized a suspected US drone which has crashed in a militant threat zone in southern Somalia on Sunday. Al-Shabaab officials told the media that the unmanned aircraft crashed in a village near the mountainous Buurhakaba town which is under the control of Al-shabaab militans.

The small-sized surveillance drones are vital machine helping the US on its covert anti-terror campaign against militants in Somalia. US drones have killed dozens of senior militant leaders including the leader of the group Ahmed Abdi Godane in air strikes for the past few years.

The Pentagon hasn’t so far commented on the militants claims; however, the group’s run media reported that the crashed drone suffered a heavy damage which might caused the loss of data on its system.

Residents in El-bashir, a small village near Burhakaba in Bay region said that armed militants have surrounded the crash site.

In Somalia, the US continued to target al Shabaab’s intelligence and external action wing, Amniyatt. The second drone strike of 2015 killed the Amniyatt leader, Adan Garaar. He succeeded Yusef Dheeq, who was killed in a drone strike in January, according the Bureau Of Investigative Journalism.

Garaar was “connected to the Westgate Mall attack in Nairobi, Kenya” in September 2013.

Garaar’s death was the latest in a series of drone killings in Somalia that appear to have targeted senior al Shabaab figures focused on terrorist attacks beyond Somalia’s borders.

Photo: US Moves Drone Fleet From Camp Lemonnier to Remote Airstrip in Djibouti After Concerns From Residents About Multiple Crashe

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